Suction-head document feeder



May 16, 1961 R. L. SWARTZ ET'AL SUCTION-HEAD DOCUMENT FEEDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 27, 1957 INVENTOR-S F/cHA/zw L. SWAAETZ MAL/AM L7. H/aflsw/m BY W M ATTORNEY y 16, 1961 R. L. SWARTZ EI'AL 2,984,481

SUCTION-HEAD DOCUMENT FEEDER Filed Sept. 27, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TO PICKUP HERD I To 6140s:

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44 7b PUMP #3 INVENTORS 5 /0/0190 L. SWA/WZ MAL/14M D f/mms/v/rh' BY MW MW ATTORNEY United States Patent SUCTION-HEAD DOCUNIENT FEEDER Richard L. Swartz and William D. Highsmith, Columbia, S.C., assignors to Universal Business Machines, Inc., Columbia, S.C., a corporation of South Carolina Filed Sept. 27, 1957, Ser. No. 686,745

6 Claims. (Cl. 271-26) This invention relates to a device or machine for feeding documents, one at a time, from a stack of documents to a location adjacent the stack where they are delivered for further use.

While not limited to such use, this invention is especially useful in document sorting machines of the type disclosed in U.S. Letters Patent No. 2,668,706 and No. 2,707,569 issued to Le Roy J. Benson, and in the copending application of William H. Rives, Ser. No. 523,178, filed July 20, 1955, now Patent No. 2,866,640. Machines of this type include a bin for receiving a stack of documents to be sorted, the stack being supported upon a vertically movable bottom or platform in the bin, a feeding device for removing the top document from the stack and feeding the document to a conveying guideway adjacent the stack, a keyboard arranged adjacent the stack and having a number of key-controlled devices for selecting and operating any one of a number of tiltable gates arranged at spaced stations along the length of the guideway and for simultaneously operating the feed device to move the uppermost document into the conveying guideway. As the document is conveyed along the guideway and reaches the selected station, the tilted gate at the selected station will deflect the document downward into a suitable storage bin.

The present invention is concerned with the arrangement for feeding the documents from the top of the stack into the guideway.

The term documents as used herein refers to sheetlike articles generally, such as checks, vouchers, receipts, paper money, and the like.

A primary object of my invention is to devise a document feeding mechanism utilizing a vacuum pick-up head or nozzle which is brought into contact with the top of the stack to pick up the topmost document and transfer it into position to be conveyed along the guideway.

Another object is to provide means for removing the transferred document from the pick-up head at the entrance to the guideway.

A further object is to provide an arrangement for increasing the suction of the pick-up head in the pick-up position and to reduce the suction in the delivery position of the head.

One form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 shows the essential elements in perspective view, the drawing being in diagrammatic form of clearness of showing. Figure 2 is a side View of the stack bin and guideway apron showing various positions of the pickup head under different conditions of operation, and Figure 3 is a sectional view of the vacuum control valve for reducing the suction in the delivery position of the head.

Referring to the drawing, a stack of documents to be sorted, shown at 1, is contained within a box or bin 2 and is supported upon a vertically movable platform 3, as in the Benson Patent No. 2,707,569.

A stack elevating mechanism represented at 4 is provided for raising the stack platform 3, and this mechanism is controlled automatically to maintain the uppermost Patented May 16, 1961 document of the stack 1 at the proper level to be fed to the conveying guideway. The elevating mechanism forms no part of this invention and will not be described in detail. Suitable stack elevating arrangements are shown in the patent to Benson No. 2,707,569.

The operation of stack elevating mechanism 4 is controlled by switch 5 which is controlled by a feeler device which engages the top of the stack. This device includes a shaft 6 arranged above the top of bin 2 at one side thereof and being journalled to turn about its own axis. An arm 6a carried by shaft 6 extends under the actuating arm of switch 5 and closes the switch when it moves upwardly to a certain position. A feeler arm or finger 6b mounted on shaft 6 extends over the bin and its downwardly turned end engages the top of the stack 1 when the top of the stack reaches a certain position. The feeler device is normally biased to move finger 6b downwardly. If the stack is below the proper level, switch 5 energizes the device 4 to elevate the stack. When the stack has been raised to the proper position, feeler lever 6 releases switch 5 and further operation of the stack elevating mechanism 4 is prevented until enough documents have been fed from the top of the stack to necessitate raising the stack again.

The conveying guideway forms no part of the present invention except at the entrance end, a portion of which has been shown in Figure 1 where the apron 7 constitutes an extension of the floor of the guideway at the entrance, the apron being bent over the upper edge of the end wall of the bin and extending downwardly into the bin. The two side walls of the guideway are represented at 7a and 7b, and the first continuously-rotating conveying roller in the guideway is represented at 7c. A suitable construction for the guideway is disclosed in the copending application of William H. Rives Serial No. 524,007 filed July 25, 1955, now Patent No. 2,823,031. The idler roll which is mounted above the driving roll 70 and is driven by frictional contact with the driving roll, has not been shown in the drawing.

The documents in stack 1 are transferred one at a time from the stack and placed on the apron 7 by a transfer mechanism including the suction pick-up head or nozzle 8 carried by an operating arrangement which moves the head from a pick-up position directly over the stack to a discharge position over a portion of the apron 7. For the purpose of positively removing the document from the pick-up head in the discharging position, and moving it on to the first set of conveying rolls in the guideway, a friction roller 9 having a rim formed of good friction material, such as soft rubber, is mounted to rotate continuously within an opening formed in the apron 7 directly beneath the pick-up head in its discharge position. The roller 9 is mounted upon a continuously rotating shaft 9a driven from other parts of the machine not shown. When the nozzle 8 is moved from pick-up to discharge position, the nozzle head 8b is pressed against the roller 9 which removes the document from the head. Spring means embodied in the mounting for nozzle 8 then withdraws the nozzle from the discharging position to the rest position as shown in solid lines in Figure 2. The rest position is only slightly removed from the discharging position so that the nozzle does not obstruct the view of the stack 1.

The arrangement for mounting'the pick-up head to move through its operating cycle comprises a linkage arrangement located at the back side of the bin 2 and supporting the tube 8a which carries the head 8 at one end thereof which extends over the bin 2. When the linkage is operated through a complete cycle, the suction nozzle is moved from the rest position as shown in solid lines in Figure 2 to the pick-up position 8" and then back to the discharging position where the nozzle head 8b engages roller 9. The nozzle is shown in the discharging position in Figure 1. The linkage is operated from a cam shaft which is controlled by a conventional single-revolution clutch mechanism represented at 11. Power is supplied to the clutch through a constantly rotating input shaft 11a, and the clutch is actuated or tripped by a solenoid 12 to rotate the output shaft 10 through one complete revolution for each operation of the solenoid. This solenoid is controlled by a keyboard control represented diagrammatically at 13. This keyboard would be positioned in front of the bin 2 at a location where the operator would have an unobstructed view of the top document on the stack 1. Operation of any key in the keyboard will eifect one revolution of the cam shaft 10', as can be seen in the Benson patent and in the Rives application referred to above. Cam shaft 10 is provided with cams 10a and 10b which control the operation of the linkage mechanism in an manner to be described below.

The linkage mechanism for supporting the suction tube 8a involves two U-shaped frame members pivotally connected together and being oscillated about their pivotal axes by means of cams 10a and 10b to eifect movement of the pick-up head in vertical and horizontal movements, respectively. The first U-shaped frame controlled by cam 10a comprises a yoke portion 14 pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis between the two vertical arms of a forked bracket 15 rigidly secured to a main frame member 16 mounted at the back of bin 2. The parallel arms 14a and 14b of this U-shaped frame member extend horizontally and at their outer ends pivotally support the second Ll-shaped frame having a yoke portion 17 pivotally mounted on arms 14a and 14b and two vertically extending arms 17a and 17b which carry at their upper ends suitable bearings 17a and 17b in which the suction tube 8a is journalled. Between these bearings a sleeve 18 is rotatably mounted upon the tube 8a and has a link 19 rigidly secured thereto and extending back horizontally in substantially parallel relation with the arms 14a and 14b. The free end of link 19 is pivotally connected to the upper end of arm 20 of a bell-crank lever which is mounted upon the frame 16 to pivot about a horizontal axis 20a. The second arm 20b of the bell-crank lever extends rearwardly and is pivotally connected at its outer end through an adjustable link 21 to one end of a lever 22 mounted to pivot on a horizontal axis 22a and carrying a cam follower roller 23 in a position to be engaged and operated by the cam 10b. It will be noted that operation of cam 10b effects lowering of the right end of lever 22 which, through lever 20 and link 19, effects horizontal movement of the suction head 8 away from the rest position shown in solid lines in Figure 2. A suitable biasing spring 23 acting upon arm 20b normally holds the suction head in the rest position where the head 8b is spaced from roller 9, and this position is adjustable by means of an adjustable stop 24 positioned to limit the downward movement of the left end of the lever 22.

Arm 14a of the first U-shaped frame member is connected by an adjustable link 25 and a spring 26 to one end of a lever 27 which is mounted to pivot about a horizontal axis 27a and carries a cam follower roller 28 in a position to be engaged and operated by cam 10a. Frame arms 14a and 14b are normally held in a substantially horizontal position by means of a biasing spring 29 applying a downward force on a tail piece 140 forming part of or secured to the arm 14b. Upward movement of the tube 8a is limited by means of an adjustable stop 30 positioned to limit the upward movement of the right end of lever 27. Spring 26 is sufficiently stiff to overcome the pull of spring 29 when the lever 27 is operated by the cam 10a. As will be explained below, the normal or rest position for the suction head is shown in solid lines in Figure 2 where it will be seen that the enlarged head 8b of nozzle 8 is spaced vertically a small distance from the friction roller 9, and this vertical dis- 4 tance may be adjusted by adjusting the position of stop 30 or the length of link 25 or both.

As shown in Figure 2, the suction nozzle is inclined at an angle of about 23 to the vertical when in the discharge position. This reduces the amount of travel of the nozzle support in moving between the pick-up and discharge position. For picking up heavy paper (20 to 50 pounds), strong suction action is required, and the pick-up nozzle in the pick-up position will be substantially vertical as shown at 8" in Figure 2. Thin paper (10 to 20 pounds) requires less suction for satisfactory pick-up operation, and the end of the nozzle may be inclined to the surface of the paper as shown at 8 in Figure 2 where the axis of the nozzle is at a greater angle to the vertical than in the discharge position, it being understood that in actual operation with thin paper, the pick-up position of the nozzle will be substantially at the position 8" of Figrue 2 but with the inclination shown at 8". Such operation requires rotation of the tube 8a about its axis when the nozzle moves from the discharge position to the pick-up position. For this purpose, a link 31 is connected at one end to tube 8a and the other end has pivotal connection with one end of link 32, the other end of which is pivotally connected with arm 20 on an axis 200 at an intermediate point on arm 20 by means of a bracket 33 mounted on the lever 20. The combined length of links 31 and 32 is greater than the length of link 19, so that links 31 and 32 are buckled away (downwardly for thin paper and upwardly for thick) from the common plane containing the axis of tube 8a and the pivot axis 200.

In moving the pick-up head from the rest position to the pick-up position, the lever 20 turns in a clockwise direction and thereby reduces the separation between the pivot axis 200 and the axis of tube 8a, which causes a further buckling of the links 31 and 32 away from the common plane containing these axes, and this causes clockwise rotation of the tube 8a to produce increased inclination of the pick-up nozzle in the pick-up position, as shown at 8" in Figure 2. This is for operation with thin paper. Where thick paper is being used, the links 31 and 32 will be assembled to be buckled upwardly instead of downwardly, so that the tube 8a will be rotated in a counterclockwise direction in moving from discharging position of the nozzle to pick-up position, where the nozzle will be substantially vertical as shown at 8" in Figure 2.

It is desirable to have greater suction action on the pick-up nozzle in the pick-up position than in the discharge position. For this purpose, the suction control valve 33 is connected in the suction line leading from the vacuum pump to the tube 8a and is controlled in timed relation with the movement of the suction nozzle. For example, the valve-operating lever 33a may be connected to lever 27 through a link 34 so that the lever 33a normally is in the low-vacuum position, but is pulled upwardly into the high-vacuum position when the lever 27 is actuated by the cam 10a. The valve 33 is provided with a gauge 35 to indicate the amount of suction applied to the tube 8a. It will be understood that the suction line immediately adjacent the tube 811 is formed of flexible tubing to allow for the free movement of the tube 8a.

The feeding device operates in the following manner: Upon release of the clutch 11 by pressing a key on the keyboard 13, shaft 10 rotates one complete revolution in a counterclockwise direction.- Cam 10b first moves the suction tube 8a horizontally away from the discharge position of the nozzle 8, during which movement the angle of the nozzle is changed as explained above, and then cam 10a becomes effective to move tube 811 downwardly and thereby lower the nozzle into the pick-up position where it picks up the top document on the stack 1. When cam 10a moves the nozzle downwardly into pickup position, it simultaneously operates suction valve 33 to apply greater suction to the nozzle. In the remaining portion of the operating cycle thenozzle is moved from the pick-up position back to the discharge position, and during this operation the cam a first operates to allow spring 29 to move the nozzle vertically away from the top of the stack, and then cam 10b operates to allow spring 23 to move the nozzle horizontally towards the discharge position. Due to the inertia of the moving parts, the nozzle is carried beyond its normal or rest position and moves the document into direct contact with the roller 9 for an interval of time sufficient to allow the roller to remove the document from the nozzle, and then spring 29 pulls the nozzle from direct contact with the roller and holds it in the normal or rest position shown in solid lines in Figure 2.

One satisfactory arrangement for the control valve 33 is illustrated in detail in Figure 3. The block or casing of the valve is provided with two parallel bores 36 and 37 extending entirely through the block from top to bottom. A cylindrical valve element 38 is journalled in a transverse bore crossing both bores 36 and 37 and is provided with a transverse bore 38a for controlling flow of air through bore 36 and a second transverse bore 38b arranged at right angles to the bore 38a for controlling the flow of air through bore 37. The operating lever 33a is attached to the end of valve member 38 so that this member may be rotated through 90 to render first one bore operative and then the other. The upper portions of bores 36 and 37 are connected by transverse bore 39, and the lower portions of these bores are connected by transverse bore 40, and a needle valve 41 controls the flow of air through the bore 40. The upper end of bore 37 is connected to the vacuum gauge 35 shown in Figure 1, the upper end of bore 36 is connected to the pick-up head, and the lower end of this bore is connected to the vacuum pump. The lower end of bore 37 is provided with a bleeder valve having a seat formed in the plug 42 and the valve head on the end screw 43 which passes loosely through a central bore in the plug 42. The valve head is maintained on its seat both by gravity and by the action of spring 44 zvshich may be adjusted by turning the nut 45 on the screw Operation of the control valve is as follows: With the valve member 38 in the high-suction position shown in Figure 3, air from the pick-up head to the vacuum pump flows directly through the bore 36 without any substantial restriction. The amount of air drawn through transverse bore 40 is restricted by the valve 41, and transverse bore 39 is effectively closed off from bleeder valve 42-45 by the valve member 38.

When the valve member 38 is in its normal or lowsuction position, it closes the bore 36 and opens communication between the upper and lower portions of bore 37. In this position, air from the pick-up head enters the upper end of bore 36, and passes through a transverse bore 39 to bore 37 and out of this bore through the transverse bore 40 to the pump. The amount of vacuum which can develop within the bore 37 is limited by the bleeder valve 4-2 which admits outside air to the bore 37 when the suction exceeds a certain value. Thus, by adjusting bleeder valve 4245, the amount of suction applied to the nozzle can be set at any desired low value.

In order to provide uniform evacuating efiect in the vacuum line, and to ensure adequate capacity for high vacuum gauge reading during the entire pick-up operation, a vacuum tank or reservoir is installed in this line between the pump and the control valve.

Referring to the pick-up nozzle, it is preferred to use a nozzle with an enlarged head as shown in the drawing, so that the end of the nozzle covers a substantial area in the pick-up position shown at 8" in Figure 2, thereby distributing the air stream over a greater area of the document and providing for an increased pick-up power.

The amount of suction action is decreased by tilting the nozzle as shown at 8" in Figure 2. Also, the opening in the nozzle is not concentric with the enlarged head, but it is an oval opening formed horizontally in the lower half of the face of the head when in the tilted position shown at 8" in Figure 2. Also, the bottom face of the enlarged head of the nozzle is provided with a concave portion which opens into the suction opening and which operates to cause transverse buckling of the document at the time it is picked up by the nozzle, and this buckling assists in separating the top document from the next lower one. The novel construction of the pick-up nozzle or head is being claimed in a co-pending application of Richard L. Swartz Serial No. 687,160 filed September 30, 1957.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for transferring documents one at a time from a stack to a location adjacent said stack comprising, a suction nozzle, means supporting said suction nozzle for vertical and horizontal movements between a pickup position, where the end of the nozzle is located to pick up the top document in the stack, and a discharge position adjacent said stack, means maintaining a continuous suction in said nozzle, a constantly-rotating friction roller having a surface of yieldable material located beneath the end of the nozzle when in discharging position for pressing said document against the end of the nozzle when the nozzle is in its discharging position, whereby the rotation of said roller removes said document from said nozzle, and spring means acting on said nozzle in the discharge position thereof to withdraw the nozzle from contact with said roller and into a rest position intermediate said pick-up and discharging positions.

2. A device according to claim 1 and including means operated in timed relation with movement of said nozzle to increase the suction of said nozzle in the pick-up position thereof.

3. A device for transferring documents one at time from a stack to a location adjacent said stack comprising, a suction nozzle, tension actuated means for moving said suction nozzle in vertical and horizontal directions respectively from a position to pick up the top most document of said stack to a position adjacent said stack to discharge said document and means operated in timed relation with movement of the nozzle to vary the amount of maintained suction of the nozzle in the pick-up position thereof.

4. A device according to claim 3 and including means for shifting the angular position of said nozzle with respect to the vertical, thereby varying the amount of effective vacuum between the nozzle and the stack.

5. A device for transferring documents one at a time from a stack to a location adjacent said sta-ck comprising, a suction nozzle, means supporting said suction nozzle for vertical and horizontal movements between a pick-up position, where the end of the nozzle is located to pick up the top document in the stack, and a discharge position adjacent said stack, means mounting said nozzle on the supporting means for angular adjustment of said nozzle to position said end at different angles to the Vertical when at its discharge and pick-up stations respectively, means maintaining a continuous suction in said nozzle,

means normally holding said nozzle in a rest position in termediate said pick-up and discharging positions, and operating means responsive to manual initiation and operating through a complete cycle to move said nozzle from said rest position to said pick-up position and back to said rest position, said operating means including a resilient support for said nozzle which yields under the inertia of said nozzle upon arriving back at said rest position and guides said nozzle into its discharging position and then returns the nozzle to its rest position.

6. A device for transferring documents one at a time from a stack to a location adjacent said stack comprising, a suction nozzle, means supporting said suction noz- 7 zle for vertical and horizontal movements between a pick-up position, where the end of the nozzle is located to pick up the top document in the stack, and a discharge position adjacent said stack, means maintaining a continuous suction in said nozzle, a constantly-rotating friction roller located to frictionally engage the end of the nozzle when the nozzle is in its discharging position, whereby rotation of said roller removes said document from said nozzle, means normally holding said nozzle in a rest position intermediate said pick-up and discharging positions, operating means responsive to manual initiation and operating through a complete cycle to move 'said nozzle from said rest position to said pick-up position and back to said rest position, said operating means including a resilient support for said nozzle which yields under the inertia of said nozzle upon arriving back '8 at said rest position and guides said nozzle into engagement with said friction roller.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 107,851 Ashley Oct. 4, 1870 1,054,795 Sargent Mar. 4, 1913 1,578,822 Glover Mar. 30, 1926 2,097,587 Dearing Nov. 2, 1937 2,293,046 Curtis Aug. 18, 1942 2,328,943 Backhouse Sept. 7, 1943 2,347,254 Cox Apr. 25, 1944 2,698,175 Rowell Dec. 28, 1954 2,726,861 Wolfi et al. Dec. 13, 1955 

